Entrepreneurship
-
West Chester-based Quix Labs Is Helping People Kick Their Nicotine Habit for Good
From early-stage startups navigating their first steps to more seasoned innovators building momentum, the Everything Begins With An Idea series explores the challenges, breakthroughs, and lessons learned that shape the entrepreneur’s journey. _______ When Zach Starr, founder and CEO of Quix Labs, began noticing how many people around him were struggling with vaping and smoking addiction, he…
-
She Didn’t Go to New York or Silicon Valley. She Built Her Fintech Startup in Philadelphia
Mical Jeanlys-White didn’t head to New York or Silicon Valley when she was ready to launch her fintech startup. She chose Philadelphia. A former managing director at JPMorgan Chase, Jeanlys-White founded WealthMore in 2022 with a straightforward mission to put wealth-building tools within reach of everyday consumers, particularly women and communities of color who have…
-
Kennett Square Entrepreneur Launches Mushroom-Based Soy Sauce Alternative for People with Food Allergies
For years, entrepreneur Nicole Gordon couldn’t figure out why she felt sick. It wasn’t until she completed a full elimination diet that she finally had an answer: a legume allergy, including soy, that effectively put much of the food she’d grown up loving out of reach. Rather than accept that loss, the Kennett Square business…
-
Malvern Native Turns Mental Health Journey Into Mission-Driven Clothing Brand
For Hollie Mershon, the weight of a hoodie is the point. The Malvern native and former professional basketball player spent years quietly wrestling with anxiety and depression, a struggle that deepened after ACL injuries cut short her overseas career, reports staff at 6abc. When the sport that had defined her career was suddenly gone, Mershon…
-
From Underground Dinner Parties to a Michelin Star: The Rise of Philadelphia Chef Amanda Shulman
There was a period when some of the most exciting food in Philadelphia wasn’t being served in any restaurant. It was being served by a college student who hadn’t opened one yet. As a University of Pennsylvania student, Amanda Shulman was quietly hosting underground dinner parties, building a following one meal at a time, writes…
-
West Chester’s Bam Margera is Sober, Back on the Board, and Launching a Cannabis Brand
West Chester native Bam Margera is back on the board, sober, and building something new alongside his wife Dannii, writes Aron Vaughan for Cannabis & Tech Today. Known worldwide for his roles in Jackass and Viva La Bam, Margera once had a doctor tell him his legs were “dry rotted rubber bands” from years of…
-
Everything Begins With an Idea: Matt Canning Is Rethinking Productivity for the Way People Actually Work
From early-stage startups navigating their first steps to more seasoned innovators building momentum, Everything Begins With An Idea explores the challenges, breakthroughs, and lessons learned that shape the entrepreneur’s journey. _______ Every business starts the same way. With a problem that refuses to go away. For Matt Canning, that problem was personal. His daughter has ADHD. Watching…
-
After 34 Years at QVC, Former Host Takes On Scrub Daddy
Longtime QVC host Dan Hughes has stayed busy since his layoff from the West Chester-based television shopping network, writes Jeff Blumenthal for the Philadelphia Business Journal. Hughes was dismissed after 34 years with the home shopping channel. While the entire experience has been unexpected and unpleasant for him, Hughes was surprised by the reaction from…
-
Three Chester County Brothers Join Forbes Billionaires List
Three Chester County residents affiliated with Exton-based Bentley Systems have made their debut on Forbes’ most recent annual billionaire listing, writes Ryan Mulligan for the Philadelphia Business Journal. Bentley Systems is the publicly traded infrastructure software company that most recently reported revenue of $1.5 billion for fiscal 2025. Keith Bentley, the company’s co-founder and an Elverson resident, placed…
-
Wynnewood’s Rosemary Connors Trades TV Career for Booming Business
For Wynnewood native Rosemary Connors, a successful career in television was just the beginning, writes Eileen Smith Dallabrida for Main Line Today. After 15 years as an Emmy-winning journalist with NBC 10 Philadelphia, Connors stepped away from the anchor desk in late 2024 to launch a new venture in an entirely different field. Just months…
-
Delaware County Entrepreneur Bill McKee Revives Baja Beach Club
Delaware County native and Sun Valley High alumnus William “Bill” McKee is reviving the Baja Beach Club brand with the opening of a Philadelphia venue that resembles a tropical escape McKee has spent decades in the nightclub business and has now opened a 42,000 square-foot Baja Beach Club along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, writes…
-
Colorful, High-Energy Rage Room Chain Expands to Phoenixville
Looking for a fun way to de-stress and make new memories? Chester County’s newest rage room, iSmash, offers just the thing with its range of activities, writes staff for Franchising.com. The national chain recently opened its newest location in Phoenixville at 260 Schuylkill Road. The new spot, which opened on April 18, marks the company’s…
-
Former Malvern Chick-Fil-A Employee is First Black Woman to Open Own Franchise Location in PA
Sereena Quick, a former federal probation officer and employee at Malvern Chick-fil-A, has opened her own franchise location in North Philadelphia, writes Brian A. Saunders for Philly Voice. This makes Quick the first Black woman to own a Chick-fil-A in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Quick started her career as a juvenile probation officer in…
-
Oxford Friend Group Celebrates Girlhood with Specialty Coffee Pop-Ups
A group of Oxford women are celebrating female friendship and empowerment with their coffee brand Early Girly Club, writes Gabbie Burton for Chester County Press. Started by friends Alejandra Marquez, Kelly Green, and Gina McCutcheon, the brand offers inventive coffee flavors along with sourdough bread sold through in-person pop-ups. Without a formal storefront, the team…
-
Everything Begins With An Idea: myNextory Helps Employees Take Control of Their Career
From early-stage startups navigating their first steps to more seasoned innovators building momentum, Everything Begins With An Idea explores the challenges, breakthroughs, and lessons learned that shape the entrepreneur’s journey. ______ Startups rise or fall on one thing. They solve a real problem or they do not. myNextory is built around a problem many companies…
-
Thinking About Buying a Business? Free Chester County Seminar Explains the Process
Interest in buying and growing an existing business increased during the past decade. Several forces drive this shift. First, many small business owners are nearing retirement. Across the United States, a massive ownership transition is underway. Over the next 10 to 15 years, hundreds of thousands, and likely millions, of profitable local companies will need…
-
Two Cofounders From Montgomery County Rank Among World’s Wealthiest
Two Montgomery County businessmen have landed on the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires List with a combined fortune of around $84 billion, writes Ryan Mulligan for the Philadelphia Business Journal. Bala Cynwyd-based Susquehanna International Group co-founder and CEO Jeffrey Yass ranks as the 28th richest person globally and the wealthiest in the Philadelphia region. A regular…
-
Nottingham-Based Herr Foods Names New CEO, Passing Leadership to Third-Generation
Herr Foods, a family-owned company based in Nottingham, has officially passed the reins to the third generation by appointing Troy Gunden as CEO, writes Emma Dooling for the Philadelphia Business Journal. Gunden, a third-generation Herr family member, previously the Chester County chip maker’s president, stepped into his new role on Sept. 1, taking over from…
Pioneer Partner
Founding Partners
Advertisement
Affiliate Partners
Community Partners
